Chapter 1317 Secret of the Stone Bridge
The old man lowered his head. He wore an expression of fear on his face but did not speak.
In reality, he did not harbor such a thought before, and he had not even dared to dream about joining the Immortal Dojo. But somehow, after hearing the Tianshui Court disciples loudly discussing their dreams, an insuppressible thought emerged in his mind. It was as though a blade of grass had grown in his mind, and it blew like the wind as his thoughts swirled around, making him incredibly motivated.
He knew that he didn’t have many more years left to live.
If he wanted to begin training now with his failing body, without having any prior martial arts training and having already passed the prime age for beginning his martial arts career, his path would be thousands of times harder than others. It was no longer a question of talent.
However, since he could reach the Sky Dragon Mountain Range, why could he not give it a shot?
The Immortal God Emperor had said that his sect was open to anyone regardless of their background. As long as they passed a few simple entrance tests, they could join the Immortal Dojo. If that was truly the case, why could an elderly man like him not try to join?
There was a saying that went, "It would be meaningful to die at dusk if one could feel the real Dao at dawn."
No matter what level of cultivation one reached, even if one did not manage to pass the entrance tests, one would have no regrets in life after trying, wasn't that so?
Gradually, he stopped hearing the taunts.
The old man did not rebut the Tianshui Court disciples. Instead, he lowered his head and clenched his fists.
Since he did not have long to live, he decided that he might as well put his life on the line for this chance.
...
On the outskirts of the Sky Dragon Mountain Range—
More figures began gathering.
As time passed, living beings of different races, domains, and factions gathered in the dying mountain range of this declining domain. The old staging ground of the Ancient Sky Dragon Sect had become the core district of the Immortal Dojo. All beings who had come for the test had arrived here.
The Ancient Sky Dragon Domain had not been so full of commotion in the past few millennia.
Upon walking into the Sky Dragon Mountain Range, one could see the first batch of Immortal Dojo recruits.
Now, as news of the Immortal Dojo began to spread to most parts of the Vast Thousand Domains, the Immortal God Emperor had already recruited many disciples. They were ranked according to seniority. The first disciple was Bai Yuanxing, followed by Li Ying, Li Qi, Jin Ling'er, and Tian Ning. The sixth was known as Mo Weinan, but he was stationed in the Dark Realm instead of the Vast Thousand Domains.
Aside from the six great disciples, two hhundred young boys and girls who had been selected earlier in the Heaven Wasteland Empire had become the Immortal God Emperor's recognized disciples. They were considered the first batch of Immortal Dojo students, and those who passed selection later on would have to call them seniors if they met.
Camps and tents could be seen everywhere within the Sky Dragon Mountain Range.
Some factions with huge backers had chosen spots with geographical advantages over the others. They instantly set up huge formations of halls and activated their magical artifacts, transforming them into camps. They looked exquisite from the outside, as if mansions had just been built into the valley. However, the Ancient Sky Dragon Domain lacked spiritual qi after all, and most beings, races, and factions could only afford to erect tents to keep the wind and sand at bay. Of course, there were a few pitiful and sorry looking souls who chose the mountain caves as their temporary staging grounds. Some of them even chose to sit cross-legged outdoors while awaiting for the selection to begin.
Bai Yuanxing, the Immortal God Emperor's chief disciple, was personally guarding the mountainous passage to the main peak of the Sky Dragon Mountain, along with one hundred other recognized disciples of the Emperor. They issued official tokens at different time intervals, and only those who received the tokens could walk up the mountain to begin their tests. The others could only wait at the foot of the mountain for their turn.
This was done to maintain order.
As such, many living beings gathered below the main peak of the Sky Dragon Mountain as they waited.
All sorts of news began to spread within the various factions and warriors.
"Have you heard? A few human geniuses from Storm City have already passed the Immortal Dojo's test and been officially accepted..."
"Not only that, but dozens of tribal members from the Demon Spider Race of the Clear River Domain have also passed the selection with luck..."
"By now, I'm afraid thousands have already been accepted..."
"Really? That many?"
"How many people does the Immortal Dojo plan to recruit?"
"I'm not too sure; there doesn't seem to be any information on a limit to the number of disciples the dojo is accepting, and it seems that anyone who manages to pass the selection can join it."
"What does the selection entail exactly? Has anyone seen it?"
"I've seen it. The test takes place on the one hundred and eight smaller bridges on a huge one acting as a gorge. Those who have come for the entrance tests, regardless of background, can become an Immortal Dojo disciple as long as they cross any bridge without wobbling."
"Just walk across any bridge, it's that simple?"
"It sounds very simple, but in reality, it's very strange. Yesterday, I saw a self-proclaimed 'once in a millennia' martial arts genius of the Heaven Domain fail the test after taking less than three steps on a stone bridge. He failed repeatedly and eventually was declared to have not passed. One of his attendants, however, who behaved like an intermediary, managed to walk across the entire length of the bridge he was on..."
"Is this even possible?"
"It's really very strange. It's been said that some people have gone to the test location and recorded their detailed observations. They concluded that the test results can't be judged based on talent and experience alone. Plenty of reputable young prodigies have failed the selection unexpectedly, while others who would be treated as trash by any sect, managed to successfully cross their bridge..."
As the discussions continued, the contents and method of selection gradually became clear.
There were people who passed and failed the selection at any time.
Those who passed were sent to the opposite side of Heaven's Wrath Gorge, while those who failed were sent down Sky Dragon Peak and lost the right to join the Immortal Dojo, even though many people could not understand why, especially the prodigies that had come from everywhere and were extremely confident in being selected, who were incredibly enraged and perturbed. Some people also boldly speculated and hoped that the dojo could give a reasonable explanation or at least specify what the target areas of the test were. They received no reply, however. A prodigy who had come from the Heaven Domain went temporarily insane after feeling ashamed from his failure and created a scene at the north face of Heaven's Wrath Gorge, only to be taken down in one blow by an Immortal Dojo disciple who looked to be only thirteen years of age...
It was only then that everyone realized the first batch of disciples recognized by the Immortal God Emperor possessed terrifying power, even though they were extremely young. Any one of them could crush the prodigies from the other domains, and it was truly scary that none of them had managed to discover how strong these youths were.
After some thought, however, they realized that it was logical. After all, they were officially recognized as disciples of the current Martial Emperor.
Time ticked by.
More beings accepted the challenge of the test.
The one hundred and eight stone bridges looked like they were the Bridges of Fate, as they hung high above Heaven's Wrath Gorge, connecting its far end to the north face. Each bridge was shaped differently, and mysterious formations circled above them. Even at the Ancient Sky Dragon Domain, an area which severely lacked spiritual qi, these formations contained a power that even Quasi-emperors would find hard to break.
They also looked like expressionless and eternally silent chief examiners. They did not give out any questions, but instead, they continually made selections and judgments based on their whims, causing some people to feel incredibly happy, while also bringing disappointment to others.
Those that crossed the stone bridge vanished excitedly in the opposite end, which was concealed by a sandstorm. They did not know what awaited them, except that a bright future was within their grasp now.
Those that failed could only leave.
Aside from a few children who lost all rationale after being unable to accept their failure due to their immaturity, no one dared to cause any trouble within the dojo of the current Martial Emperor.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Eh? That old fellow managed to cross a stone bridge?" a Tianshui Court disciple opened his eyes wide as he pointed at a stone bridge in front of him, his tone full of disbelief.
A few other fellow Tianshui Court disciples beside him also opened their eyes wide.
They could not believe what they had just seen. The elderly man that they had taunted a few days ago, who they believed did not have many more years to live and already had one foot in the grave, walked unsteadily up a stone bridge, as if any breeze could blow him down into the gorge. Against all odds, however, he walked to the other end, step by step.
The Tianshui Court disciples looked at each other in surprise.
How could this happen?
A useless, aging man can pass selection?
One had to know that this batch of Tianshui Court disciples was composed of their elite. However, only their eldest senior brother had managed to pass the selection. This... What sort of ability is the selection to enter the Immortal Dojo meant to test?
Until now, no one knew what the official standard of the Immortal Dojo was.
No one could uncover the secret hidden within the stone bridges.
It was completely undecipherable.
During the entire selection process, a few sect leaders from major domains even arrived to take part in the test. They had evidently given up their original identity and status. What was even more odd was that a few of the sect leaders or elders of these larger sects passed the test of the stone bridges and were accepted into the Immortal Dojo.
Such things rarely happened in the past.
It was rare from someone who already belonged to a sect to join another. Even if there were, those who succeeded in their plan were few and far between.
Time continued to pass. In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
During the past six months, the Immortal Dojo never stopped recruiting.
The one hundred and eight stone bridges continued to function every day.
It was impossible to count how many batches of creatures had rotated through the Sky Dragon Mountain Range. As usual, there were some of them who took part in the selection every day. Currently, at least tens of thousands of beings had already passed and were accepted into the Immortal Dojo. However, what it really looked like within was still a puzzle to the outsiders.
Of course, as the number of people who took part increased, the number of failures also increased.
Still, no one managed to uncover the secret of the stone bridges.
No one could tell how they determined if the participants had met the requirements of the Immortal Dojo.
On this day, a barbarian youth who was caked in blood hobbled up to a stone bridge.
He had lost an eye, and one of his legs had been crippled. He was in an extremely sorry state, and his breathing was shallow. He seemed to be only at the Body Refinement realm, and he let out a long shout as he stood before the bridge...
"After seven whole months, I, Debiao Manchui, have finally arrived here."
The barbarian youth was full of emotion as he looked at the stone bridge.
He had nearly worn out the soles of his feet after walking barefoot for a few million kilometers. He had survived countless potentially fatal disasters, all for a chance to take the entrance test.
Even though he was resolute in nature, now he felt a little nervous.
"Young fellow, are you going across the bridge or not? There are people waiting behind you. If you don't dare to take the test, get lost..." someone roared far away behind him, impatiently egging him on.